The Trade Ninja and the Unlikely Return of the Pods

Reasons why Scott Podsednik is not returning to the South Side:

1. Kenny Williams
2. Kenny Williams
3. Chone Figgins
4. Kenny Williams
5. Kenny Williams

…shall I go on?

For every Gavin Floyd that Kenny Williams acquires, there is a Tony Pena. For every Mark Buehrle in the Sox farm system, there is a Josh Fields. For every Mark Kotsay, there is a Horacio Ramirez. And who is to blame for these control failures? Kenny Williams, I’d say.

Although Sox fans usually take pride in calling him “The Trade Ninja” I feel that this nickname’s connotation is moving more and more toward the negative end of the spectrum.

This whole “I don’t know what in the heck Kenny is doing anymore” thing started, for me at least, when he chose to sign Ken Griffey, Jr. Of all the possible moves he could have made, really!? It was enough to make a Brian Anderson fan out of me.

I was further disappointed when Kenny chose to rely on Josh Fields as the Sox’ 2009 starting third basement, rain or shine. Yes, he got lucky in that Beckham stepped up and didn’t faceplant, but if you honestly believe Kenny predicted this would be the case in winter 2008-early 2009, you are either a liar or as naïve as I was in believing Joe Crede would be alright after his first back surgery.

There is something odd about the Sox system in that whenever they have a role to fill, little money, and little hope, they go to veteran players that were once part of the Sox organization. (See, Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon, Scott Podsednik) When it comes to Scott Podsednik this time around, I don’t see Kenny doing the same. Why? Well, when it comes to the outfield, it’s usually a big pit of suck. Let’s think of the Brian Anderson, DeWayne Wise, Nick Swisher, Alex Rios, and Griffey, Jr. disasters. Podsednik was the only one that has impressed me since… Carlos Quentin. No one has worked out and I’m sure there is some sort of reason behind it.

Besides, Kenny is envisioning that Scotty will be asking for a large pile of cash. Which he will be. But I guarantee he will settle for a small mound. And there’s always Jordan Danks in the background. Whether or not he’s major league ready, he will be ready to be Kenny’s excuse.

What’s my point? Well, for one, I’m not too optimistic about Podsednik’s return and I don’t see why it has to be this way. He’s probably a pretty affordable, solid option and it really can’t do much damage to the Sox organization. Let’s not get creative here for the sake of being creative.

Side Note: As I was writing this post, a rumor surfaced that the Sox were in talks with the Angel and Padres to trade Konerko for Adrian Gonzalez in some sort of 3-way deal. Some "prospects" were also included.

Now, here's where I get skeptical: a deal involving Konerko is never likely because of the "No Trade" clause.

Here's where I believe it: This guys doesn't seem to be much of an improvement and this is sort of a salary dump.